Canon A650 IS reviews, samples, tips

X-mas shopping: best offers

2007-12-18T00:17:00.000-08:00

Canon A650 IS for $334 - the lowest price among trusworthy sellers. And don't forget about protection for your camera. Amazon offers Canon branded soft pouch and LCD screen protectors as low as $11.

If you need more advanced camera, with the RAW support and more professional look and feel - go for Canon G9 - just $437. Today you can get genuine spare battery for your Canon G9 or G7 for $38.

Canon G9 ISO200 and ISO1600 shots side by side

2007-11-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

DPReview forums user Oak and Acorn has posted some comparison shots he has made with his Canon G9 at ISO200 and at ISO1600. The last one was postprocessed with Neat Image for noise reduction:

Looks impressive! I even can't tell one from another. Of course, both shots were taken under the sunlight while the noise is more noticeable in the deep shadows but virtually lack of difference between ISO200 and ISO1600 is still very impressive.

Canon G9 DPReviewed

2007-10-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

DPReview have posted their full and thorough (as usual) Canon G9 review. And yes, as were predicted, G9 gets Highly Recommended score with "but only just" remark due to 7.5 out of 10 for value - G9 isn't cheap.

In the final analysis the G9 has more to recommend it than most enthusiast compacts we test, and at ISO 80 the quality is simply superb.

G9's RAW capabilities were found very useful and surprisingly fast. Well handed sturdy body, a load of features and 35-210mm optically stabilized lens are added more points. Superb macro mode and movie shooting capabilities completed the list of Canon G9 advantages.

DPReview guys are missing about fast F2.0-3.0 lenses and vary-angle LCDs of old G series cameras. Highlights clipping and useless ISO800-3200, slow AF in low light conditions and weak battery - all that were found not good.

Jeff Keller's review of Canon G9

2007-10-14T01:51:00.000-07:00

Since the Canon G9 is really quite similar to its predecessor (G7) Jeff Keller at DCRP has reused some portions of old G7 review in his Canon G9 review that was published today. But this fact doesn't mean that his review is useless. On the contrary, this is no doubt Jeff's review - thorough, detailed and informative.

Jeff has noted that the G9's battery life is 10% better than G7's but still less than average with just 240 shots per charge. A650IS in his measurements live more than twice longer on four 2500 NiMH accus.

Jeff recommends to by 2Gb SD card but I think, personally, that it's just to small for a 12 megapixel camera especially if you are planing to shoot RAW. I'd recommend a high speed 4Gb SDHC card. All the more because they are really cheap nowadays. B&H offers Kingston high speed Class 6 4Gb SDHC card just for $37.95 and if you'll grab it till October 31st you are eligible to $15 mail-in rebate.

Canon G9 samples gallery was published three weeks ago, long before the actual review so you've probably seen it already.

Jeff liked Canon G9's image quality at low ISO settings, its stylish and sturdy body and huge 3" LCD but he noticed a strange thing:

the G9's screen is completely black in the "normal" landscape orientation when you have polarized sunglasses on. Taking off your sunglasses solves the problem, but in my case I couldn't see anything, as they are prescription lenses. Thus, if you wear prescription polarized sunglasses, keep this in mind.

Canon A650 IS review at Photoeview

2007-10-13T09:46:00.001-07:00

Another Canon A650 IS test, short but very informative, came from the Australian PhotoReview website.

the A650 IS provides an excellent control suit for its price. It's also an affordable choice for photographers who want the benefits of P, Av, Tv and M shooting modes and high resolution and would be an excellent 'learning' camera for prospective DSLR buyers.

This is 10 seconds exposure night shot at ISO 1600 - not so bad at all.

Steve's review of Canon A650 IS

2007-10-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

Tom Demonek has submited a long and interesting list of the new Canon A650 and G9 reviews at the various websites. Thank you, Tom. An here is the first one:

Steve at Steve's Digicams has published his own Canon A650 IS review. As usual, thorough and useful, with a lot of information you would want to know about this amazing digital camera. He liked how Canon have upgraded their year old A640 with the new 6x zoom lens with optical image stabilization. And the picture quality of the new 12 megapixel sensor satisfied him, too.

The A650 IS offers style, versatility, excellent image quality, not to mention some of the best specs for any camera in this class. With the new bigger zoom, increased resolution, and addition of Canon's OIS system, the Canon PowerShot A650 IS is definitely worth a look.

Canon G9 video review in German

2007-10-12T02:14:00.000-07:00

Swiss techreviews website Architronic.ch have uploaded a video review of the Canon G9 to youtube:

Review in German but the camera looks great as well as the girl who describing and showing the main G9's features.

German Canon A650IS review at PC-WELT

2007-10-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

German IT and gadget reviews website PC WELT have tested Canon A650IS. They have discovered a bit loss of resolution at the telephoto end but were amazed by overall sharpness and the other aspects of image quality. Wide range of aperture settings was also noted.

Despite that they were impressed much by the image quality of the Canon A650IS and the other Canon's 12 megapixel compact cameras they have added that nothing comes free and these cameras are not cheap. Not a surprise: Canon A650IS costs around 400 Euro in Europe (U.S. $560) - 50% more than in the United States.

More on Canon A650 IS light leak issue

2007-10-06T01:37:00.000-07:00

Canon U.S. website have published the thorough description of the problem with earlier Canon A650 IS cameras.

As you may know already, in some harsh lighting conditions, e.g. when the bright light hitting the back of the A650 IS camera while LCD is twisted out the light could leak into the camera body and affect the capturing image showing artifacts like this one:

This issue is fixed now and all new Canon A650 cameras are ok. In a matter of fact, the problem cameras are easily to identify: all of them have a zero as a fifth digit in serial number (from the left).

Even if you have the faulty camera, you can avoid this issue by shooting with rotating LCD closed - no matter which side - display side down or up. But it's still better to send your faulty A650 IS to Canon for free replacement. Consult your local Canon dealer how to do that.

By the way, most of the faulty Canon A650 IS were shipped to China and United Kingdom.

All Canon A650 IS Recalled!

2007-10-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

ePhotoZine have confirmed the rumors floating around that the Canon are recalling all sold Canon A650 IS digital cameras due to manufacturing fault.

Production fault makes it possible very bright light to pass through the rear LCD to the CCD sensor and affect the image.

Shammi Shah of Canon told ePHOTOzine that "the problem has now been corrected and all future cameras will be okay. We are issuing a recall and all consumers who have bought an A650 should return their camera to Canon."

If you have bought your Canon A650 IS already, you are requested to return it back to Canon for replacement, for free.

This fault is fixed already and all new cameras are ok. Shop at the big respectfull stores like Amazon to get the new fixed A650 IS.

Canon IXUS 960 IS (SD950 IS) review at Unbeatable

2007-10-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

Unbeatable.co.uk reviews website have reviewed Canon IXUS 960 IS (Canon SD950 IS in the U.S.) wide-angle 12 megapixel titanium body ultra compact camera:

The Canon Ixus 850is and 950is impressed us so much we though that Canon might struggle to improve upon perfection, but then a short while ago they pulled the Ixus 960is out of the bag and slapped it on the table with some additions that made us drool.
...
The Canon Ixus 960is may be a little pricey over other compact digital cameras with a similar specification, but you can tell this model has been manufactured with skill and care and this is proven in its unbeatable performance. Images are fantastic and with such speedy response times, we will struggle to beat this review.

Canon G9 review at DigitalCameraReview

2007-09-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

Howard Creech has published the promised Canon PowerShot G9 review at DigitalCameraReview along with a dozen of full sized samples.

His only complain is the lack of big G6 like hand grip - G9's tiny grip looks better and more stylish but it's not so comfortable.

Overall conclusion:

As recently as two years ago many digital camera industry insiders were predicting the imminent demise of top of the line (read expensive) prosumer/enthusiast digital cameras due to the introduction of affordable entry-level digital SLRs – those dire prophecies clearly haven’t come to pass. The G9 has a few warts, but at this point in time and when compared to the other cameras in its class - the G9 is as good as it gets. If that’s not enough, RAW is back, the G9 is more powerful, it has more features, and it’s cheaper (MSRP) than its predecessor.

Canon G9 night shots

2007-09-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

DPR forums user Refractured has shared these night shot samples from his Canon G9. Looks pretty good to me, even at high ISO. This one shot at ISO 200. Look at the grass - pretty much details for high ISO long exposure:

Canon IXUS 960 IS (SD950 IS) review at CNET AU

2007-09-25T00:17:00.000-07:00

CNET Australia have reviewed Canon IXUS 960 IS (SD950 IS in the U.S.) pocket-size 12 megapixel point and shoot camera. This tiny titanium body thingy - more gadget than a camera - deserved 7.8 out of 10 from CNET editors. Their only complains are lack of manual shooting controls and some bit sluggish performance:

Canon's Digital IXUS 960 IS looks great and can take very nice images, but the digital camera's whopping 12 megapixels will leave you waiting between shots.

Canon G9 review by The Online Photographer

2007-09-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

Ken Tanaka has wrote a short but quite informative Canon G9 review for The Online Photographer blog. It lacks scientific tests and a loads of tortured sample photos to pixelpeep. Just pure impressions of the pro photographer. And his impressions are more than positive:

It's an exceptional little camera whose specs and performance would have been hard to imagine just a few years ago, particularly for $500. If you're looking for a go-anywhere pocketable camera in this price range you owe it to yourself to look at Canon's G9

And by the way, there you can find G7 and G9 side to side comparison with the most noticeable exterior difference - bigger 3" LCD.

Canon A650 IS reviewed at CNET

2007-09-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

CNET have Canon A650 IS review. What's interesting, their performance tests shows significant Canon G9 supremacy over A650 IS in terms of speed - shot to shot times, continuous shooting etc.

With its great picture quality and wealth of features, the Canon PowerShot A650 IS makes a great camera for amateur photographers who either don't want to step up to a digital SLR yet, or who simply want a secondary camera alongside their SLR. Despite its performance and noise issues, the A650 IS presents a fine choice for a flexible, high-resolution, photographer-friendly camera

Canon IXUS 960 IS review at Good Gear Guide

2007-09-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Good Gear Guide have reviewed Canon IXUS 960 IS a.k.a. Canon PowerShot SD950 IS - compact (pocketable) digicam built with the same sensor as A650 IS and G9 but with different lens - 36-133mm 3.6x zoom.

The IXUS 960 IS is a great compact camera from Canon. Consumers looking for a high-end camera to back up their SLR or to take their photography to the next level will love this unit.

Canon G9 short review at Wired

2007-09-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

Wired has payed some attention to Canon G9. Here is short review:

Picture and video quality are outstanding. RAW capture is a boon to the pixel purist. Hot shoe for Canon’s 580EX II pro flash increases versatility. Macro function focuses clearly down to 1 centimeter. Panorama mode can stitch together up to 26 frames. $100 less than its predecessor. Super durable -- camera survived multiple drops to the asphalt without so much as a hiccup.

Canon G9 got 9 points out of 10 - excellent result.

Canon G9 review at PopPhoto

2007-09-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Popular Photography magazine the first who published thorough test and review of the new Canon G9 (hey! they have beaten DPreview).

Overall verdict is Excellent. Except for poor high ISO performance (not a surprise for a compact point & shoot), slow burst mode and some RAW quirks.

After the disappointing lab results of its predecessor, the Canon PowerShot G7, we were a bit skeptical of the Canon PowerShot G9. Not anymore! In general we like what we see. We like Adaptive Noise RAW conversion. We like a compact camera that syncs with external strobes. We like full manual controls.

One more Canon G9 hands-on preview at DCR

2007-09-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

DigitalCameraReview have published another Canon G9 hands-on first thoughts/impressions preview. This time from DCR contributor Howard Creech:

I’ve only had the G9 for a few days, but my initial impressions are quite positive. I thought noise might be a problem with resolution boosted to 12 megapixels (the G7 was a 10 megapixel digicam), but Canon’s teensy 1/1.7" image appears to handle this substantial increase nicely.

Howard has promised a thorough review in a few weeks as his colleague two days ago. I wander if this guys will combine their reviews in one or will write it together but two Canon G9 previews on one site in two days undoubtedly speaking about camera popularity. Canon R&D can be proud, they have found their grateful audience with G9.

Canon A650 IS hands-on preview by DigitalCameraReview

2007-09-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

J. Keenan at DigitalCameraReview has put his hands on the newly arrived Canon A650 IS. It seems that he had not much time to play with it more, but his first impressions are very positive. More thorough review promised to be published soon:

We’ve only scratched the surface thus far with the A650 IS, and a more complete review will follow soon, but based on what I’ve seen so far, Canon has produced another first-rate imaging product.

A first couple of samples looks good.

Canon G9 review at CNET

2007-09-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

CNET video and photos have published their short review of Canon G9. They gave it 8.0 out of 10 mark (Excellent).

The Canon PowerShot G9 is a solid enthusiast camera for those who want something compact to complement a dSLR.

Also they have noticed that the G9 sart time is 0.2 longer than its predecessor's - 1.7 sec against G7's 1.5 sec.

Canon G9 Indian Summer photos by Ramesh Kumar

2007-09-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ramesh Kumar has posted some excellent photos that he shot at some kind of folk music festival. All photos shot as RAW and processed using RIT software. Ramesh said that it takes just 2-3 minutes if everything exposed right. Sometimes it's just too much contrast in pics. Also, there is one very good looking 100% crop:

G7 Vs. G9 user's comparison

2007-09-09T01:43:00.000-07:00

RonAnnArbor from DPreview forums has upgraded one of his Canon G7 to newer Canon G9 just a couple of days ago. Here his impressions on this upgrade. Not very positive though...

I see practically no differences in Image Quality at all. I thought the G7 was superb, and I find the G9 to be superb.

The 12 MP is practically indifferent from the 10 MP on the G7. Sure it gives you slightly more pixel to play with for cropping and printing, but negligibly so.

The design is virtually the same -- the screen is a bit larger, but for all practical purposes it looks and feels the same. I don't see any difference in "brightness" on the screen -- it looked great on the G7 and it looks great on the G9.

THere is a slight contour change on the front with a barely noticable front grip molding -- maybe 1/16 inch more than the original. I honestly can't feel a difference although some users have.

It does have RAW - a feature I don't need nor do I plan to use. But as long as I could get the upgrade (for less than the original G7 so I got 40 bucks back) I figured why not have the newest and greatest.

The ISO and noise appears to be the same -- the G9 excels at night neon shots - just like the G7. I see no difference in noise between the two cameras.

The shutter lag is exactly the same as the G7 - I don't see any difference like some previous posters here have mentioned...it seems exactly the same.

I also don't see any difference in battery life -- maybe its more problematic if you use RAW, but I've gotten the same 450 plus shots out of the battery, just like the G9.

The design of the lens and the connections are the same, so I expect those of us who carry it around in our pockets are going to have the same dust problems we had with the G7.

Finally in similarities -- the camera feels the same and weighs the same. It responds the same when you start it up, and it makes just as much noise as the original. The trademark Canon grinding lens noise is intact.

in differences: that old 2GB card that used to get 800 shots at 10 MP now gets 600 shots at 12 MP.

The autofocus seems slower on the G9.

Macro shots do not focus as quickly or as well on the G9. There are some shots that I routinely was able to quickly use macro for on the G7, that now require quite a bit of futzing to get sharp and focused in the G9. I suppose that is one of the changes because of the larger sensor, but I don't know. I actually thought there might be something wrong with the camera, but looking at another G9 at a different camera shop (so it wasn't the lot number) I was able to reproduce the same difficulty focusing with Macro as on my personal G9, so it's apparently a camera thing.

The long and the short of it -- I don't think it is worth the Upgrade if you have a G7 unless you really really want the RAW. For all other practical purposes, it's the same on a day-to-day usage level.

Canon A650 IS Vs. Fuji S6500 ISO800 comparison

2007-09-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

Adam T (I've mentioned him before) has done a comparison of Canon A650 IS and Fuji S6500 at ISO800 sensitivity. Though A650 IS has a twice more megapixels Adam just downsized its crops to match to 6 megapixels S6500. As you can see, Canon A650 IS is a clear winner.